Stoneburner – Sounds and Shadows

RETRONOMICON on ParaLuna Records

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman)

I love it when this scene comes together to step up for one of it’s own. Legendary Bass player for My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult/Pigface/ect Charles Levi was diagnosed with vascular dementia. He had a stroke. Has been taking expensive medications and is in the fight of his life. A ton of great artists and ParaLuna Records stepped up to release this compilation of 80’s covers to help offset the costs of his treatment. It is a heartwarming tribute to a beloved figure in our scene that proves what we are capable of during folks darkest moments. In addition to the album I have also posted Charles’s gofund me page.

Fundraiser for Charles Levi by Wolf Dodge : Charles Levi housing support (gofundme.com)

RETRONOMICON | ParaLuna Records (bandcamp.com)

I want to thank all of these talented people that stepped up for our dear friend Charles. I will go through and call out a few tracks I thought really knocked it out of the park

Apology Kink- “West End Girls” / Pet Shop Boys >> Augustus Watkins – programming/synths/vocals/mixing, Carlos Bueno – additional mixing
LeviLevi vs Bangalore ft. Betty X / Hit me with your Best Shot” / Pat Benatar >> Betty X – vox, Charles Levi – bass, Tim Pethtel – guitar, Christopher Rodriguez synths/programming
Precog- “Oh Father” / Madonna >> Gerald Josef, Jason Thomas, and Bret Pemelton
SU – “Smothered Hope” / Skinny Puppy >> Ursa Minor and Sarah Emilie
Microwaved – “So Alive” / Love & Rockets >> Gabe Wilkinson – programming, synths, vocals, mixing
Betty X- “The Chauffeur” / Duran Duran >> Betty X – vox, Nathan Kaylor – Engineer/Producer
Doors In The Labyrinth- “Dead Man’s Party” / Oingo Boingo >> Josh Loughrey
Giant Monsters on the Horizon – “It’s a Sin” / Pet Shop Boys >> Vinnie Saletto – programming, Madison Davis – programming, Cara Ristau – vox
Missing in STARS – “Hold Me Now” / Thompson Twins >> Dan Guenther
Planetdamage – “Sunglasses at Night” / Corey Hart >> Mariusz Bari
Stabbed By Prongs ft. Bow Ever Down 0fficial – “Heat of the Moment” / Asia >> Kimberly of Bow Ever Down – vox, Craig Drabik – guitars/synths,/programming
Violet Wanda – “Discipline” / King Crimson >> Tess LaCoell
Dogtablet- “Hollow Hills” / Bauhaus >> Martin King
Glitch Factor – “Strangelove” / Depeche Mode >> Justin Fisher and Vinnie Saletto
Hororhaus ft. Bow Ever Down 0fficial – “Take My Breath Away” / Berlin >> Scott Harris with Kimberly of Bow Ever Down
Renegade Sl8ve versus Giant Monsters on the Horizon – “Desperate, but not Serious” / Adam Ant >> Nick Void, Vinnie Saletto, and Madison Davis
Stoneburner – “The Crab Song” / Faith No More >> Steven Archer

Apology Kink – West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys) – Augustus Watkins the co founder of GIVE/TAKE records from Minneapolis with a glitchy synth sass take on the iconic PSB hit. I really like the sax solo synth breakdown. The vocals do a nice homage while adding a bit more whisper and smoke.

Music | GIVE/TAKE (bandcamp.com)

LeviLevi vs Bangalore ft. Betty X – Hit me with your Best Shot (Pat Benatar) – So here you had Charles playing bass, Betty X lashing vocals like a whip crack, Tim Pethtel on guitar, Christopher Rodriguez on synths turning the pop classic into an acid static club banger. Feels very true to the original while turning the chaos up to 11. Betty X in particular has done a great job of shouting out from the rooftops about this compilation. Love this energy.

THE DEVIL’S DUE | Betty X (bandcamp.com)

SU – Smothered Hope (Skinny Puppy) – I hadn’t heard a ton from Ursa Minor and Sarah Emilie out of Montreal, but I adore the fact they did a Skinny Puppy cover among a lot of synthpop so far. They absolutely crushed this too. Elegant beauty with fairy fire intensity. The cadence on the vocal delivery is spot on with such lovely contrast to the original. This cover really showed me their best.

Novelty (Single) | SU (bandcamp.com)

Microwaved – So Alive (Love and Rockets) – I was obsessed with this song when it was in heavy rotation on MTV. It lived in a non-stop rotation in my head. Des Moines Iowa artist Gabe Wilkinson did a wonderful flip of the script with this grungy wall of sound pushing forward across hot sand. The vocals have a cool gang style doubling punk flavor. Distinct but immediately recognizable. Gabe is well known for his collaboration and remix work, so this cover really highlights his talents.

The Dead Shall Walk Remixes: Volume 6 | Microwaved (bandcamp.com)

Doors in the Labyrinth – Dead Man’s Party (Oingo Boingo) – I’ve heard a few cover songs now from Pittsburgh doom folk artist Josh Loughrey. He always finds a really fresh take and makes the song his own. This was my favorite yet. Classic Danny Elfman darksynth bop was stretched into a misty translucence like a funeral dirge which matches perfectly with the title. A completely different vibe from the original but one I will always hear in this song now.

In Memoriam | Doors In The Labyrinth (bandcamp.com)

Missing in Stars – Hold me Now (Thompson Twins) – This I fell in love with less from how different it was from the original and more how different it was from the usual vocal style of Dan Guenther. It sill holds that ethereal synth beauty but behind the smile are large sharp teeth barely holding back a menacing growl. That double bass drum breakdown is grinding with pure power. Chefs Kiss.

Hurt | Missing in STARS (bandcamp.com)

Dogtablet – Hollow Hills (Bauhaus) Living Legend Martin King and the project Dogtablet with this percussion sorrow jazz cover of the Bauhaus classic rising from the boggy depths. I’m not sure who was doing the amazing banshee backup vocals but they are a perfect compliment. Martin always captures a moment.

The Summertime EP | Dogtablet (bandcamp.com)

Hororhaus ft. Bow Ever Down – Take my Breath Away (Berlin) – This lovely shadow ballad appeared on out S & S singles chart previous. Kim’s voice rings with passion and power and Scott has taken the original down temp and seasoned it with chaos and static. Great use of his growling backup vocals to sharpen the angles. A perfect addition to your next goth prom.

next door neighbor | hororhaus (bandcamp.com)

Goodbye | Bow Ever Down (bandcamp.com)

Stoneburner – The Crab Song (Faith No More) Leave it to Steven Archer to make things weird. Instead of covering an 80s synth song, he chose chaos prog rock band Faith No More, and then converts it into worldbeat chaos apocalypse industrial. I love it, I love everything here. From the chanting, the screaming, the glitch, and the operatic explosive anger. When Steven covers a song it becomes his own.

The Great Filter | Stoneburner (bandcamp.com)

This entire album is a great way to find new talent you will love, as well as support Charles Levi who has been an important part of the scene and inspired so many.

Sept 2023 Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman) 1 Comment

This year is flying by, I can’t believe October is already here. Time once again for our singles chart to highlight some of the best songs released in September voted on by our group of Artists/DJs/Reviewers/Promotors/and Super Fans. Hearing these tracks are a great way to keep your finger on the pulse as well as raise awareness of amazing new bands in the scene that don’t always show up in other charts. If you or someone you know has a single released in Oct in the broad Darkscene genre. Join the group and add it.

Matt Hart – Deep Down City
Black Rose Burning – Fight
Stoneburner – The Great Filter
GoFight – Machine Rock
The Waning Moon – Shred My Wings
Curse Mackey – Dead Fingers Talk
Sapphiria Vee – What It Was
Night Nail – Narcoleptic Dream Catcher
Choke Chain – Mortality
Gazelle Twin – Black Dog

MATT HART – Deep Down City – London Industrial Metal artist Matt Hart is no stranger to the top of the S & S Darkscene chart. I love how every single has a cyberpunk back story. This track would be the perfect scene builder for one of my old ShadowRun Table Top games. A new neon world buried beneath the destruction of the past. Cybernetically enhanced 6 inch platform boot stomps. Designer drugs and laser cycles hugging the corners of plastic streets. Razor production and imaginative concepts.

We reached a place so deep that,
All the light has left the darkness,
We source a new found light a
Strength to fuel our journeys process

A new world built for us,
A city designed to survive,
Honour, pride, and sacrifice,
This is the way of the Deep Down City

Main chamber to the stairwells,
Entertainment and the sleep holes,
Trains and stations, living districts,
All together survival instinct.

Deep, down below
We see the glow
our home so far down

This is the way, survive the day,
Take it from me we’ve paved our way.

DEEP DOWN CITY | MATT HART (bandcamp.com)

2) Black Rose Burning – Fight – It’s so great to see awesome people get the recognition they have long deserved. George Grant from Brooklyn has been a fixture in this scene for decades and people are starting to come around to his top tier voice, immersive songwriting, and complex technique. A science fiction story set in this albums space age world. I love how this tale zooms in on a relationship. In this one a co-dependent one. I think it’s really relatable for most of us at some juncture in life. George’s voice is such a breath of fresh air for it’s unique flavor in a baritone post punk world. It’s funny, as I read the lyrics I built a story of an alien parasite which is both keeping a stranded spaceman alive, while slowly consuming him. A race against time for rescue.

t’s stranger still, to taste a bitter pill
And there’s no lines, it’s better to lie all of the time
Now I can’t feel you anymore

Cho:
Sometimes – we try to forget it all and never make a change
Sometimes – we’d rather believe it, and just take the blame
Sometimes – we deceive, and we lie, to ourselves
Sometimes – it’s brutally painful to let it go – I know

Verse 2
It’s your state of mind, that’s seems so unkind
Now there’s no love, just push and shove, off came the gloves
And I can’t heal you

Bridge:
I tried to make you happy
But the truth kept shining through
I tried to make it happen
Dead and Broken, words unspoken so where do we go to now?

Fight! | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

3) Stoneburner – The Great Filter – Title track from Baltimore sound sculpture and dear friend Steven Archer on COP International Records. I am adoring the emphasis on narrative focus for our top three songs this month. This album and song focused on a controversial theory by Robin Hanson. I love the slow walk 90s bass opening charged down by glitchy cyber rap. The tempo takes it’s time as layers of chaos and tension pile on to a white-hot barrel fire under a bridge.

The Great Filter | Stoneburner (bandcamp.com)

4) Go Fight – Machine Rock (MekaBeat) – The top of this chart has been full of dear friends and all around awesome folk. So I am excited to see Chicago Industrial Legend Jim Marcus picked near the top. This remix album which features a ton of top talent doing remixes of the June single. This one has a fun 70s shock rock inside a 3d video pinball game flavor. Gyration and hip checks encouraged for this dance floor banger. There is something special about Jim’s “Industrial” voice that takes me there every time.

1.	Machine Rock (MekaBeat) 04:15 video
2.	Machine Rock (SØLVED) 05:22
3.	Machine Rock (Bass Machine) 04:07
4.	Machine Rock (Interface Release) 06:01
5.	Machine Rock (SpankTheNun) 03:50
6.	Machine Rock (Household Percussion) 04:22
7.	Machine Rock (Derision Cult) 04:10
8.	Machine Rock (Sapphira Vee) 03:59
9.	Machine Rock (MelodyWhore) 04:22
10.	Little Beautiful Strings 05:10	buy track
11.	Little Beautiful Strings (Jane Jensen) 03:16

Machine Rock (MekaBeat) | Go Fight (bandcamp.com)

5) The Waning Moon – Shred My Wings – A newer band comprised of two veterans Ariel Maniki (Ariel Maniki and The Black Halos) and Zac Campbell (The Kentucky Vampires). The combination explores more electronic ground for each of the goth-rock artists. You are still getting a heavy dose of classic Zach early batcave riffs. Ariel croons like a creature risen from the depths dripping with pageantry. This project really reminds you why goth was so cool in the first place. Before the word got so big you forgot what it meant.

Shred My Wings | The Waning Moon (bandcamp.com)

6) Curse Mackey – Dead Fingers Talk (Electric Heresy Remix by A Cloud of Ravens) – Currently out on tour Austin TX Industrowave beat poet Curse Mackey is remixed by shooting star Brooklyn post punk band A Cloud Of Ravens. The stairslide bass walk lays a thick path for Curse to fling a barrage of venom from. The idea of creeping zombified flesh swarming towards you was really taken to hear for this reimagining.

Catch Curse out on tour now 🙂

Dead Fingers Talk (Electric Heresy Remix by A Cloud of Ravens) | a cloud of ravens, curse mackey | Curse Mackey (bandcamp.com)

7) Sapphira Vee – What it Was – This months chart is so full of amazing artists I love dearly, so it is fitting Sapphira has found her way into this list. The Rochester NY electro sorceress is swirling energies above her head and surrounded by a coven of top tier remixers on the Distortion Records release. I really love the confidence and cadence of this track. Soulful Missy Elliot energy fired over a cool spinning disc. Loving the way she has harnessed her voice and leaned into her truth.

What it Was | Sapphira Vee (bandcamp.com)

8) NIGHT NAIL – Narcoleptic Dream Catcher – Berlin based atmospheric obtenebrationwave band with the first single on their upcoming Metropolis release featuring everyone’s favorite euro darkscene producer Pete Burns. This opening bass riff is sleek, wet, and captivating. Brandon shows his range and dynamic with these vocals. I love the clarity of his dipping baritone that leaves the overwash reverb in the 80’s and pairs perfectly with what I assume are Valentina backup vocals. A smooth retrospective with newfound complexity.

Narcoleptic Dream Catcher | NIGHT NAIL

9) Choke Chain – Mortality – One of the most fiercely honest voices in modern electro-hardcore. This new single is a visceral dive into self confrontation and the horror of depression. It’s a nice build and texture on the music, but Mark’s voice cuts through everything to stand an inch from your face forcing you into his raw reality.

I can’t take it anymore

posessed by death
destroying my life
every second gets worse
it keeps getting worse

dying in your sleep
or dying in pain
most likely in pain
most likely in pain

why do I have to die?
im just trying to live

why can’t I just die?
it hurts me to live

each minute that passes
theres so many who die
and at some point that will be you
gone forever

cast into nothingness
no way to know you existed
every thought every memory
all for nothing

when will I be free?
when can I just live?

Mortality | Choke Chain (bandcamp.com)

10) Gazelle Twin – Black Dog – I knew very little about this UK band but I was instantly blown away. A quirky shadow pop with whispered menace and electronic hand drums. True abstract nightmare fuel lit by the glow of analog synths. At 2 minutes 53 seconds it explodes as the dog breaks it’s chain to charge you with frothing chaos. I genuinely regret this was the last song I listened to before bed. Pray for me.

Black Dog (Single) | Gazelle Twin (bandcamp.com)

As always, if you or someone you know is releasing a single in October in the broad darkscene genre. Feel free to post it on my Patreon or in the Facebook group. We are always looking to discover the best in new dark music.

Sounds and Shadows | Music Reviews, Interviews, Videocast Connecting the Darkscene | Patreon

Stoneburner Comes Back Howling With ‘The Great Filter’ EP

Featured By luciazelenia

On their last tour, the tagline for the mighty Stoneburner was “industrial music like a goddamn firestorm,” and the live show lived up to that claim. The music of Steven Archer’s tribal-industrial setup Stoneburner is mechanical aggression with a sense of urgency, melodies to make one move their ass, not because they want to, but because they have to because the World Wolf itself is in pursuit. The project’s last album Apex Predator was a statement record, their first as part of a proper label, and now that statement is revisited with The Great Filter, a seven-song EP that isn’t finished kicking the listener’s teeth in, as if the listener is pre-Bloodline Roman Reigns and the music is Braun “I’M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET!” Strowman…

Perhaps I got swept up in the pro wrestling analogy, but the point is, The Great Filter, named for Robin Hanson’s potential solution to the Fermi paradox regarding extraterrestrial life, is an assault on the ears in the best ways.

“Narcissus” kicks off proceedings with a hearty bassline and Stoneburner’s signature layered vocals. It’s a powerful way to open the EP, barreling forward for a four-plus minute opening salvo that flows seamlessly into “Fair and Balanced.” Vocally, Archer is all over the place, with talk-sung, almost rapped verses before the refrain and command of “put your hands up,” almost making this song a spiritual successor to “Sellout” from the Apex Predator album. It’s an anthemic “all hands on deck,” with lyrics talking about the corrupt and warmongering nature of America, with the throughline being that it may be time to wipe the slate clean, as Archer sings in one of the earlier verses.

“Hard Crash Necropolis” feels like a love letter to Nineties electro-industrial, taking things in a dancier direction with elements of noise and a stronger sense of rhythm. Of everything in this EP, this might be the most club-friendly track, while remembering where it came from with the harsher electronic flourishes and features. Things go from dance to destruction with “Corvomancers,” a staccato-laden industrial rocker with loads of reverb and echo, making for a dreamier backdrop for the palm-muted guitars and Archer’s multiple vocal tracks to soar through. This song will definitely make my regular listening playlists before long.

Spoken word samples and acoustic guitars set “Generation Loss” into motion, haunting and shambling like the shell of its former self the America that Archer sings about has become. Elements of doom metal help to amp up the dread in this song, and while it wouldn’t be the first song I would show someone to introduce them to Stoneburner, it is one that appeals to me as a fan of metal music and of industrial music, as well as of things that lay just left of center. The title track is an abrasive and challenging one, though it would almost certainly get a dance floor going if given the chance, at least until the final third of the nearly five-minute track, in which pianos and different noise samples dominate the conversation until the fade.

The EP goes home on a cover of Psychedelic Furs’ “The Book of Days,” and this nod to the English post-punk group is a faithful one. While the original article has a bit more muddiness and grittiness to it, the Stoneburner rendition features a bit more of a dreamlike quality, a slightly more fantastical feel despite the heavier use of guitars than in the Furs’ version. It makes sense for Archer to give this late-Eighties classic the Stoneburner treatment, and it finishes off this seven-strong sortie that is The Great Filter on a high note.

The original version of the song from Psychedelic Furs’ 1989 album of the same name, for those unfamiliar.

My first introduction to Stoneburner was the Red in Tooth and Claw EP back in 2020, and every release I’ve heard since has only gotten stronger. Steven Archer has been in the music game for decades and is showing no signs of stopping, and we should feel blessed that that is the case. I don’t normally like doing superlatives or “best of the year,” but this is an essential listen, especially for the industrial fan that likes the music to beat back occasionally.

The Great Filter is available now via COP International.

Sept Bandcamp Day is Here! What is New and Exciting in the Darkscene ?

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman)

I have not been doing a great job of releasing new reviews this summer. It is Bandcamp Friday so I thought I would play a bit of catchup on some of the amazing new music that has kept my Summer dark and cool. Goth/Industrial/Wave music is alive and well and as always I want to place a focus on new music that has touched my heart and inflamed my senses.

Black Rose Burning – Night Terrors – George Grant with a second new single from this hybrid genre project that continues to impress. George has a standout voice that has shown new facets of depth and clarity. The cover art and tone are a return to the science fiction passion resonant in the theme of BRB. The slow shooting star guitar rift gives shape to the frantic rhythm driving the track. I know Jason Corbett (Actors) is providing mastering for the upcoming album and I can’t wait to hear his vision of George’s story.

Night Terrors | Black Rose Burning (bandcamp.com)

Obsidian – Collection 1 – I had the pleasure of seeing the Florida Death Rock band play live in Chicago in August. A band that is crackling with positive energy and overflowing with live performance emotion. When I got back home I immediately looked up this October 2022 compilation of their career to date. I hear a lot of passion for the core of original goth. A reverence for Pornography Cure, Acid Bath Alien Sex Fiend, for that early strain of darkness blended with the spark of creation. The compilation includes 2018-2020 15 tracks and a wide swath of styles.

Missy Mortis – Vocals & Guitar
Kathy D. – Keyboards & Backup Vocals
Dent A Gon– Bass & Backup Vocals
Chuck Loose – Drums & Backup Vocal

Favorite Tracks:

A Swamp – You always need to start an album with a banger. Thunderclap bassline which really drives this song like a crashing wave. Sinful chanting vocals that come from the back of the room and pierce a veil of Barney Sumner guitar static. Draw them in before you knock them down. You can hear this was early material by the rawness of production, but the track is all hairpin turns and precision.

The Vultures Will Pick Your Bones – This is a high-speed decay. Kathy Diaz takes the vocal point like an enflamed banshee wailing a future demise. The punk rock gnashing teeth of these drums will have you flailing and processed. At the two-minute mark you hear a madman’s laugh and a blistering guitar solo that drives you into a brick wall.

Viracoacha – I love the resonant Cure guitar tone here. Missy unleashes a haunting Peter Murphy style vocal that completely channels the early goth flavor. I feel this one swelling in my chest. Punishing bass that comes from the inside out. I am memorized by how unhinged every song feels while reminded what careful attention went into each song writing decision.

This is definitely a band where the live performance tells the true tale. I got to have a quick interview at the show, but I promise you all we will have a full discussion with this up and coming talent soon.

Collection 1 | Obsidian (bandcamp.com)

Red Meat – Providence – Brand new double single release from the sordid electrofilth artist Rhys Hughes of Manchester. Freshly signed to Armalyte Records and ready to drag you into an underground world of unimagined debauchery. Rhys brings an unapologetic Queer courage and political napalm to both their songs and online persona. I always like to close my eyes and conjure an image the first time I hear a track. This is a dump truck full of green ooze caterwauling down the street splashing acid on the world as it teeters through every turn. Rhys flings the venom laced vocals at high velocity on a gatling gun percussion. It jumped up the bandcamp charts in a hurry for good reason.

▶︎ Providence | RED MEAT (bandcamp.com)

Sapphira Vee – Fortune – NY shadow siren Sapphira Vee continues a steady flow of electronic cabaret on Distortion Records. This latest offering is in pre-release for Sept 8th. As always she puts a focus on collaboration and community with a bevy of top tier guest stars like Jean-Marc Lederman, Veronica Tam, Chava Sanberg, and Jim Marcus. Mixed and mastered by Jules Seifert at Epic Audio Media, London UK. My first thought from track one is how much you can hear the craft work she put into her production and songwriting. A lot of effort went into very tiny details and it shines. A shimmering jazzy vocal cadence blended with Underworld electronica. Creating a lovely space between the triphop feel of her earlier releases. Powerful use of string synths that draw a memorizing line through the phrase.

Favorite Tracks:

What It Was – Hard not to choose this opening single. Opening with those gorgeous string sounds into a sharp drum attack and very early 2000s London feel. Sapphira’s voice is a slow amber whiskey swirling in a glass. Confident and center without overpowering. An effortless ownership that eases you in.

Last (Feat Jim Marcus) – As a huge fan of Jim’s voice, hearing him take on a sensitive beauty in the reflection of someone else’s music is amazing. I feel so much trust and collaboration in this track. usually when I think of Jim’s lyrics and voice it’s all sexy bear growls and slippery club feels. This is tender, sweet, beckoning.

Fortune | Sapphira Vee (bandcamp.com)

Metamorph – Woo Woo (Feat: Adoration Destroyed) – NYC Synth Witch Margot Day is leaning into the autumn season and teaming with club thumper maestros Adoration Destroyed. Streaking through the sky on broomstick, cutting the violet fog, getting real high and getting witchy for us. The flute breakdown before two minutes if the perfect gust of breath. We all know how much I love my goth to be fun, and this is a Stevie Nicks riot.

Woo Woo | Metamorph (Margot Day) (bandcamp.com)

Slighter – This Futile Engine– What makes California electro sonic visionary Colin Cameron stand out in a crowd so much? I think it is how he approaches music. It’s never with a plan to play out live, to pack a room. His songs are moving auditory dreams made solid. This translates into his career doing soundtracks for tv/movies. The latest title “This Futile Engine” rings so apt evoking imagery of a grinding mechanized monstrosity rolling over a dying world of post capitalism too enormous to support it’s own consumption. Colin pulled out all the stops from Brutal Resonance and beyond with guest artists who he pushed out of their comfort zone in every track.

Tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13 written by Colin Cameron Allrich (ASCAP)
Track 2 lyrics and vocals by Craig Joseph Huxtable (SOCAN)
Track 7 lyrics and vocals by Anastasia Poirier (BMI)
Track 9 lyrics and vocals by Yvette Winkler, recording assisted by Roland Zwaga
Track 11 lyrics and vocals by Tara Kimberly Saavedra (ASCAP)

Track 5 Vocals by Steven Seibold and Tara Saavedra

Track 9 Vocals by Yvette Winkler

Favorite Tracks:

Memory Corruptor – (Feat Steven Seibold and Tara Saavedra) – This one is broken sky slow grind with terrifying screaming vocals. Guess who is one of the greatest screamers in the game? Steven Seibold of Hate Dept. Blend this with the ethereal swamp whispers of Tara aka Morgue VVitch and you are left with a heady and unnerving brew. The production on this song really highlights the best of everyone.

Pulling Me Under – Previous winner on the S & S darkscene singles chart. This track showed a glorious new side to Craig’s voice. The music is a rumbling dance bop. Cold and captivating Craigs voice resonates with desperation seeping into cold water. Try not to move your whole body to this track.

This whole album is perfect to close your eyes and sink into a nightmare imagination journey.

This Futile Engine (Deluxe Edition) [LP] | Slighter | Brutal Resonance Records (bandcamp.com)

Psyclon Nine – More To Hell – Los Angeles terrordustrial band has made this EP as mean and gritty as I can handle. It’s good to know where your edge is, and this one is mine. Released on goth/industrial legendary label Metropolis in May 2023 this is a follow up to the 2022 “Less To Heaven” with some heavy hitter remixes by Skold, Suicide Commando, Pitch Black, and more. This EP is all slithering shadows, and they are all holding wicked looking knives. One of those records I don’t listen to if i am hoping for a peaceful nights sleep. Double bass drum impact, cruel glitchy guitar fuzz, and vocals that lash around like a razor sharp forked tongue. This isn’t in my standard wheelhouse, but something done well that has a time and place in my heart. Enough that I have continued to come back and find the words.

Favorite Track:

Money Sex and Death (Suicide Commando Remix) – Sure this is one of the bigger names for the remixes, but there is a reason they have that name. This is explosive like a legion of demons assaulting the gates. Stomping in the viscous sludge in platform boots.

▶︎ More To Hell | Psyclon Nine (bandcamp.com)

Stoneburner – The Great Filter – Lately I have been getting the feedback that I have a few artists that receive a constant stream of my bandwidth and I could search deeper for bands I don’t know yet. Steven Archer would surely be near the top of that list. The thing is, Steven keeps putting out incredible art, and it is always different. I’m not going to stop talking about it just because I have before. So here is a new EP on COP International with a hypothesis to question if the universe is as vast as it is, it seems mathematically likely other life exists. So why don’t we see it. Industrial music, which has always had strong ties to Science Fiction or prediction is at it’s best when not only tackling concepts like dancing, banging, and drinking. Opening with the frenzy beat Narcisus Steven does layered mesh vocals rich with a lip curl arrogance. Almost like an audiobook Steven is finding ways to tell stories by vocal inflection. Different characters in the Stoneburner world have emerged with distinct voices. Another intriguing aspect of The Great Filter is a return to complete production control in Steven’s studio. I think it creates a different energy and confidence to some of the COP releases featuring John Fryer.

Favorite Tracks:

Fair and Balanced – Punk infused political banger addressing class and corruption. This is vintage Stoneburner spitting dissent with even cadence and rhythm you feel in your bones. It’s hard not to put your hands up. Like a bouncing cyborg kangaroo charging towards you on fire.

Corvomancers – What a rich and complex tale, of carrion hybrid creatures picking the bones of a broken world. The vocal effects back off to let the clarity of the words breath. This chorus got stuck in my head. The Crow hybrid or shapeshifter has deep roots as a trickster in many mythologies. Blending that with an alternate reality or science fiction is a master stroke. I would love to see a graphic novel of this premise.

The Great Filter | Stoneburner (bandcamp.com)

July 2022 Sounds and Shadows Darkscene Singles Chart

Featured By soundsandshadows (Ken Magerman)

It is once again time to celebrate the top 10 singles chosen by our group of DJs/Artists/Reviewers/Promotors/and Mega Fans. These are all tracks released in July chosen from the broad darkscene genre. If you are an artist or know one that has a release in August, make sure to join the Sounds and Shadows group on Facebook and submit it for consideration.

Kill Shelter (Feat Stefan Netschio) – In This Place
Stoneburner – This Machine Kills
Sequential Zero – The Last One To Fall
Korine – Mt. Airy
Golden Apes – From The Sky
Eva X – Whipping Girl
Batavia – Mailman
Suzi Sabotage – I Am The Storm
Sawtooth & Gasoline Invertebrate – Gut Rehab
Plague Garden feat. Azy Bats – Pandora

Kill Shelter Feat (Stefan Netschio) – In This Place – I have a full review on S & S as well as an interview with Pete releasing tomorrow. However it is fitting this single off an early contender for album of the year is top song in July. Stefan of Beborn Beton delivers heavy resonant drops of tone into an unlit cave pool. 10/10 absolute banger

Asylum [European Version] | Kill Shelter (bandcamp.com)

Stoneburner – This Machine Kills – The Wolf Lord Steven Archer come in second this month with a blistering club hit doused in political gasoline. You know that part in the movie where the barrel of the machine gun gets so hot that fire shoots out. Thats what I picture when I hear this track.

Stoneburner (bandcamp.com)

Sequential Zero – The Last One To Fall – Love to see this come in at #3. A team up of Australian Ant Banister (Sounds Like Winter) and American Bruce Nullify (Orcus Nullify). It’s such a delicious blend of what I love about them individually. True old school batcave rough edge oil drenched attitude with cracking snares and crystal keys.

Fourth Sequence | Sequential Zero (bandcamp.com)

Korine – Mt. Airy – There really is nothing I don’t love put out by the Philly based death dream. Coming in at #4 it is another sizzling shock of step and turn. These vocals are pastel perfection blending with the music in color bleeding splendor. I love every note.

Mt. Airy | Korine (bandcamp.com)

Golden Apes – From The Sky – Some real fierce competition this month has the Berlin Post Punk bard’s coming in at #5. I more crackling tempo full of uplifting rippling guitar staircases. Peer’s voice is that distinctive baritone rumble of honestly that makes every single feel distinct.

From The Sky | Golden Apes (bandcamp.com)

Eva X – Whipping Girl – #6 is Canadian siren and electronic producer Eva X. I just got a chance to interview her which we will release soon. We got to talk about this song and video, partially how every release is growing by leaps and bounds. I love how her skills at production are opening the possibilities for every new violet electrolash single.

Whipping Girl | Eva X (bandcamp.com)

Batavia – Mailman – The Florida Industrial power couple have called in their friends to lend a hand on this new EP. The first single of which features drum stylings from Dan Milligan (The Joy Thieves). Inspired choice to fire the first volley with a cover of The Jesus Lizard. 90’s skate grind vibes of chopping guitar over explosive percussion stomps. Terri’s riot Grrl sultry ferocity adds such a different tone. Fresh idea’s for a familiar classic.

Mailman | Batavia (bandcamp.com)

Suzi Sabotage – I Am The Storm – Finnish TechPunk stands up for Ukrainian’s effected by Russian aggression with this slow build ice palace bop with operatic cries of anguish. I love the empathy, message, and power of delivery.

Suzi Sabotage (bandcamp.com)

Sawtooth – Gut Rehab (feat. Gasoline Invertebrate) – MA based producer Lillian Edith Martin comes in at #9 with this sweat stealing banger she teamed up with Brian Graupner on. I absolutely love the powerful imagery in the lyrics. Absolutely bashing beats filthy with decay and rebirth. I could hear more of this team up.

Gut Rehab (feat. Gasoline Invertebrate) | Sawtooth (bandcamp.com)

Plague Garden feat. Azy Bats – Pandora – I was so excited to see this track from Colorado based frozen cemetery synth band collab with Azy (Obscura Undead) slide into #10. The lofi roaring guitar sound makes lovely dissonance from the pipe organ purity in the bass tone. Azy’s vocal confidence takes a bold stride forward and propels their presence to the front of a haunting tune.

Plague Garden feat. Azy Bats – Pandora | Bleeding Light Music (bandcamp.com)